Toy airplane



Jan. 21, 1958 J. Q. K'UHN 2 320,321

oy AIRPLANE Filedubv. 2:, 1955.

IN V EN TOR.

United States Patent 2,820,321 TOY AIRPLANE James O. Kuhn, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Bromo- NginthCompany, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation 0 to Application November 23, 1955, Serial No. 548,608

1 Claim. (Cl. 46--81) This invention concerns a toy airplane which is adapted to be projected into the air by means of a blowpipe.

The primary objective of the invention is to provide a toy airplane of the type set forth which may be manufactured of plastic at an exceedingly low cost.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a low cost toy airplane which is exceedingly simple in construction, being made from a minimum of parts which may be assembled economically.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a light weight toy airplane which is not likely to injure a child should he be accidently struck by it while it is in flight.

Other objectives of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the drawings in which:

Figure l is a semi-diagrammatic perspective view showing a child projecting a toy airplane into the air.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view showing the airplane and a blowpipe which is used to project the airplane.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing the manner in which the horizontal stabilizer and the wing are affixed to the body of the airplane.

The toy comprises a thin-walled, tubular fuselage 10, a tubular blowpipe 11, a wing 12 and a horizontal stabilizer 13. The fuselage of the airplane and the blowpipe preferably are formed as extrusions from a semi-rigid plastic, the two parts being such that the blowpipe may be telescopingly received inside of the fuselage of the airplane.

In the preferred embodiment, the fuselage is made of modified styrene plastic material, that is, styrene to which rubber is added in order to make it non-brittle. The result is a semi-flexible material which may be extruded as a tube having a wall thickness approximately .008 inch thick. The fuselage which results is light in weight and strong so that it can withstand considerable abuse. The blowpipe may be made of the same material although it is preferred that the wall thickness be substantially greater. The wing 12 and the horizontal stabilizer 13 preferably are formed of thin plastic sheet material which is semi-flexible in nature such that these two elements have sufficient rigidity to support the airplane while it is in flight, but are capable of giving readily should the toy strike an object. The wing and the horizontal stabilizer may be made of oriented polystyrene which is formed as a flat sheet .001 inch thick. This material is sold under the trademark Polyfiex and it is light in weight and has the advantage that it may be creased without breaking. Furthermore, the material holds a crease which is made in it.

The front end of the fuselage is closed by means of an end cap 14 which is cup-shaped so that it may fit over the end of the tube from which the fuselage is fabricated. It is preferred that the cap be made of the same material employed for the fuselage tube so that the cap and tube may be joined by means of a plastic solvent. To fasten the two together, the end of the tube ice may be dipped into solvent and the cap then engaged over it. It is also preferred that the wall thickness of the cap be substantially greater than the thickness of the fuselage so that the cap has appreciable weight for balancing the toy in flight.

To stabilize the airplane it is preferred that the wings be formed as shown at 15-45 to provide a substantial amount of positive dihedral. The material of the wing is simply creased at 15-15 on lines which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. It is found that a vertical stabilizer is unnecessary for the toy. By bending the extending endwise portions of the horizontal stabilizer on lines 16-16, which may be angulated outwardly with respect to the fuselage of the airplane as shown, the horizontal stabilizer serves both as an elevator and a rudder, the effect being similar to that achieved through the use of a butterfly empennage.

Both the wing and the horizontal stabilizer of the airplane are secured to the tubular fuselage by means of ordinary wire staples 1'7 and 18 respectively. The staples are of the type which are U-shaped before being applied. As shown in Figure 3, the two arms of the staple pierce both the wing or stabilizer material and the tubular fuselage and they are doubled over inside of the fuselage to securely lock the two parts together. It is recommended that the following steps be followed in the assembly of the toy. Apply the cap to the end of the fuselage tube. Staple the wing and horizontal stabilizer to the fuselage tube. The material of the wing and the horizontal stabilizer should be creased as the last step in the assembly of the toy in order to insure that the creases are properly oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage.

The use of staples to secure the wing and stabilizer to the fuselage tube has a surprising effect upon the performance of the airplane when it is being projected from the blowpipe. Not only is it a time saving production expedient, but the exposed ends of the staples inside of the fuselage tube provide an appreciable amount of friction between the fuselage tube and the blowpipe. Thus, when the blowpipe is inserted into the fuselage tube the friction between the staples and the blowpipe must be overcome before the toy can be projected into the air. The holding force or friction permits a build-up of air pressure inside of the blowpipe before the toy lets go. It is found that the sudden release projects the airplane faster and farther than a free fit between the two tubular elements would do. The frictional fit between the two tubes provided by the staples also serves to maintain the toy in an upright position upon the blowpipe. It will be noted that the staples extend longitudinally of the fuselage tube to present their flat sides to the blowpipe. The friction thus provided prevents the airplane from rotating or turning over on the blowpipe when it is mounted thereon and ready to be projected into the air.

The all-plastic toy airplane which is provided is an extremely light one well suited to being projected into the air by a child blowing into the projection tube. Since there is only a small volume of air within the projection tube, the plane may be dispatched by a quick puff which does not require a substantial amount of breath.

Having described my invention I claim:

A light-weight, plastic airplane toy adapted to be projected into the air by air pressure, said toy comprising a thin walled tubular fuselage made of semi-flexible plastic material, a tubular blowpipe of semi-plastic material which is substantially longer than said tubular fuselage and which is of a diameter to fit freely inside of the tubular fuselage, a cap enclosing the front end of said tubular fuselage, a wing, a horizontal stabilizer, said wing and hor'montal stabilizer being made of thin, flexible, plastic sheet material which is sufiiciently rigid to support the Weight of the airplane toy in flight without a substantial amount of bending, said Wing and stabilizer being fastened to the tubular fuselage by means of Wire staples which are initially U-shaped, said wire staples piercing the fuselage and being doubled over at the inside thereof, and said stables being oriented so that they and their parts are aligned lengthwise of the fuselage to provide a plurality of spaced contacts between the inside of the fuselage and the outside of the blowpipe to hold the airplane in an upright position on the blowpipe prior to its being projected therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Briggs et a1 Mar. 30, 1943 Gade Mar. 21, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 17, 1946 France Oct. 22, 1952 

